Evergreen
by Shakespeare's Mistress
Summary: J/S happily ever after story; terribly sappy songfic with a sweet but somewhat unbelievable ending that I wrote a long time ago.


Evergreen Evergreen

_Eyes, like the sunrise_

_Like a rainfall down my soul_

It had been a rocky few years. There had been times when he'd been tempted to throw it all in, to forget about it, to leave and never return. But she had stopped him. She was like an angel, a shining golden star in his darkness. In his darkest hours – and lets face it, there had been plenty of them – she had always been there, making it all right. It was her determination, her dedication and passion, which had prevented him from leaving.

They might not have hit it off straight away, but it didn't take long for them to become friends. The friendship gradually deepened, until there was a bond between them, the likeness of which he had never felt before. It wasn't long before he realised that he had done the unthinkable; he'd broken one of the foremost rules of the military. He had fallen in love with his colleague. And slowly, he came to realise that she shared his feelings; that she returned the love, although it could never be.

_And I wonder_

_I wonder why you look at me like that_

_What you're thinking, what's behind_

_Don't tell me but it feels_

Like love

He began to think about her every moment. When they met, he could not look her in the eye, knowing that he would not be able to resist if he did. When they had to be together, it took every fibre of his being to ignore the feeling, to stop himself from doing something he would later deeply regret. She was constantly on his mind, and he grew to hate the regulations that kept them apart.

When he thought about it later, he knew it had been inevitable. Even if SG1 hadn't gone to P3X 702, known to the locals as the Planet of Tranquillity, it probably would have happened. On the evening of the second day of their stay, several of the village girls offered to take Daniel to see their sacred Temple of Learning, and Teal'c accompanied them. He went for a walk, and she joined him; as if she knew that under the canopy of the tall trees, on the soft green grass beside a quiet lake, regulations would become irrelevant.

I'm going to take this moment

_And make it last forever_

_I'm going to give my heart away_

_And pray we'll stay together_

There in that forest, time seemed to stop. It started when they stopped to rest, listening to the soft splashing of the waterfall nearby. She was leaning back against a tree, her eyes closed and a slight smile on her lips, looking more beautiful than ever in the moonlight. Even now, he was unsure of what made him do it, but he leaned forward and covered those lips with his own. When her eyes opened, she did not seem surprised, or shocked. She simply smiled.

Those few hours in the forest were the best he could remember having in a long time. At first, all he could think of was how they were breaking the rules, of the regulations they were defying. Soon, he found they didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except here and now. For the first time in a long time, he could look her in the eye. He lost himself in those pools of blue, forgetting everything , thinking of nothing but the feel of her in his arms.

_Cause you're the one good reason_

_You're the only girl that I need_

_You're more beautiful than I have ever seen_

_I'm going to take this night_

And make it evergreen

He came to realise that this was more than a crush. It was love, fiery, passionate love, and he could not deny it. The regulations that had imprisoned them for so long were a thing of the past. He could never even consider obeying them now. It would not be possible for either of them to return to the way they had been before. The love had been released, and he could not, or would not, lock it up again.

With this decided, he began to doubt her feelings for him. She was indeed like an angel, but that she should be his angel was hard to believe. He couldn't see how someone like her would feel so passionately for him that she would risk her career for him. He knew that he would do that for her, in an instant, but that she should love him so much…it didn't seem possible. She saw the uncertainty in him, and that night in the village, set out to take his fears away.

Touch, like an angel

_Like velvet to my skin_

_And I wonder_

_Wonder why you want to stay the night_

_What you're dreaming_

_What's behind _

_Don't tell me but it feels_

_Like love _

When it came time to return home, all doubts of her love had been erased from his mind. If the other members of their team thought anything of their linked hands, they did not mention it. In one way he was grateful, as he knew he would get enough questions to last a lifetime back at the base. In another way, however, he was disappointed in their silence, as he wanted to tell the world that she was his. They were both very apprehensive about the reaction they would receive to their announcement.

They needn't have worried. The General was inclined to turn a blind eye where his flag team was concerned, and this situation was no different. In fact, he had considered not sending SG1 to P3X 702, because of the nature of the planet and the suppressed relationship between the team leader and his second in command. However, his conscience had won out, and he sent them knowing that something like this may happen, and that if it did, he would support it fully. God knew they deserved some happiness.

_I'm going to take this moment_

_And make it last forever_

_I'm going to give my heart away _

_And pray we'll stay together _

It had been a rocky few years. There had been times when he'd been tempted to throw it all in, to forget about it, to leave and never return. But she had stopped him. She was like an angel, a star in his darkness. In his darkest hours – and lets face it, there had been plenty of them – she had always been there, making it all right. It was her determination, her dedication and passion, which had prevented him from leaving.

And now, the angel was his. He still thought about her a lot, but these thoughts did not distract him from day-to-day life. This was because she was part of his day-to-day life. He no longer had to avoid her eye, or suppress his intense feelings of longing and desire. She was there when he wanted her; nothing prevented him from greeting her with a kiss, or staying the night at her house.

_Cause you're the one good reason_

_You're the only girl that I need_

_You're more beautiful than I have ever seen_

_I'm going to take this night_

_And make it evergreen_

He stood before the priest, holding her hand. He gave it a squeeze as they listened to the man's words, and she glanced at him, smiled, and squeezed back. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Ever since she had declared her love for him, his life had been complete. This was the only thing he had wanted, and now, the time had come. He looked down at his hand, at the new ring on his finger, glinting in the moonlight, and smiled, praising whatever or whomever had seen fit to throw them together.

At last, the priest spoke the final words. As he leaned forward to kiss her, he realised that his whole life was about to change. He never hesitated. The priest pronounced them husband and wife, and he felt as though his life had been leading up to this day, this moment. She turned, so she was facing away from the group of their friends who had been invited to the ceremony, and lightly tossed her bouquet over her shoulder. Together, they walked down the path, were showered with confetti, and laughed with the rest at Janet's red face - she had caught the flowers. He turned to her, taking in the blue eyes, the flushed cheeks, the smile. He loved that smile. As he leaned in to kiss his new wife, a cloud drifted away from the moon. Bathed in the glowing light only the moon can give, surrounded by his friends, wrapped in the embrace of the woman he loved, Jack O'Neill decided that this was the happiest day of his life.

_I'm going to take this night_

_And make it evergreen_


End file.
